Seriously No-Knead Green Chile Cheese Bread

Recipe by JeffCourse: BreadsCuisine: Bread, New Mexican, SpicyDifficulty: Easy
Servings

12

servings

Seriously, no kneading. This mixed wheat bread is dense, but delicious. Super savory with the addition of hatch green chile and cheese. Great in a grilled cheese, with soup, or just on its own. This seems like a lot of steps, but it’s mainly just a bunch of waiting and babysitting the dough. Once you’ve made this you will realize how easy it is.

Ingredients

  • 10 oz (~2 cup) all-purpose flour

  • 5.5 oz (~1 cup) whole-wheat flour

  • 1.5 tsp kosher salt

  • 2.5 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast (one packet)

  • 0.75 cup plus 2 Tbsp water, room temperature

  • 6 Tbsp malty beer (red, porter, stout)

  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

  • 2 Tbsp honey

  • 2 Tbsp red pepper flakes

  • 12 pepper jack cheese, 1″x0.5″ cubes

  • 12oz roasted, cleaned, chopped green chile fully drained

  • Vegetable / Olive oil spray

  • Equipment Needed
  • 6qt cast iron dutch oven

  • Parchment paper

  • Probe thermometer with temp alarm

Directions

  • Drain the green chile completely in a fine mesh colander, reserving drained liquid (replace part of the water with this liquid). Then further dry the chilies in paper towels.
  • Stir together yeast, honey, beer, water and set aside to bloom
  • In a large non-reactive bowl, whisk together the flours and salt
  • Cube the pepper jack cheese into 1″-1.5″ cubes and add to flour, toss in flour to coat. You can use shredded cheese, but it will basically dissolve into the bread. Cubes allow pockets of cheesy goodness. Larger pieces = larger pockets. 12 ounces is a lot for a loaf like this — adjust as you wish.
  • Add vinegar to liquid yeast starter and stir.
  • Add liquid to the flours and cheese along with the green chile and crushed Chile flakes (chile flakes are optional).
  • Stir everything to combine until there is no remaining dry patches of flour. This will look like the strangest yeast bread you have ever seen. But, time will get it there. Have patience.
  • Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in room temperature to slightly warm but not hot place for 8-18 hours to allow it to rise. I usually place this above my refrigerator — a slight heat comes from the back that gives it about a 5-10 degree warmth in the winter.
  • The next day
  • Unwrap dough and with a stiff spoon or spatula, fold the bottom to the top center by running the spoon down the side of the bowl and pulling up and around the side into the center. Do this 8-12 times around the outside of the dough to shape. This is shaping, not kneading! 😉
  • Cover again and set aside to rise for 30 minutes.
  • Prepare dutch oven
  • Cut a large square of parchment paper and spray with oil lightly. Place parchment sprayed side up in dutch oven.
  • Give the dough a couple more turns with the spoon and add to parchment in the dutch oven. Reposition as needed to get the dough centered in the dutch oven and even.
  • Allow dough to rise for 2 hours, covered with plastic wrap and dutch oven lid. After this time, dough should give to pressure and not really spring back. If it does, give it another 30 minutes. Now it looks kinda like a bread dough, huh? I told you it would get there.
  • Get baked
  • Remove plastic wrap, cut a couple expansion slashes across top of the loaf and cover with lid.
  • Place oven rack in the middle position and covered dutch oven in the middle of the rack.
  • Heat oven to 450 (from cold, yeah, odd, I know) with the dutch oven in the closed oven.
  • After 30 minutes, lower the temp to 425, remove lid, and insert probe thermometer. Set the temp alarm to 210.
  • Bread will need to bake, uncovered, for about another 30-45 minutes until the internal temp hits 210.
  • It’s done! Well, almost.
  • Once the dough reaches 210, carefully remove the dutch oven and allow to cool uncovered for 15 minutes.
  • Carefully remove the loaf from the dutch oven (use the parchment to lift) and place on a wire rack to cool completely – at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Notes

  • The cheese you use is up to you. I like to use a couple different cheeses — habanero, jalapeño, anything like that adds an extra layer of goodness to the bread.